"Robots, start your
engines: It's a mad, mad, mad race; Driverless cars to be tested in the
Mojave" (San Francisco Chronicle, 02/15/2004)
Introduction to "a vehicle that just might revolutionize warfare
-- and the daily commute." It will be racing other robotic cars in
a mad dash across the Mojave Desert -- the grand finale to the Grand Challenge,
an unprecedented [$1 million] contest sponsored by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency."http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/02/15/MNGMN51F8O1.DTL

WILDLIFE
TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Mule
deer
Young mule deer - fawns - start life with a spotted coat. At about what
age does the coat turn to the adult's tan color?
(a) One month;
(b) Four months;
(c) One year;
(d) Two years;
(e) Three years.
(See answer near the end of this issue of News.bytes.)

CACHE
CREEK HIKES IN SEARCH OF BALD EAGLESSince
January 17 this year, BLM staff and volunteers have taken groups of eager
birdwatchers into BLM's Cache Creek Natural Area in search of bald eagles.
Visitors have also been treated to vistas of Cache Creek canyons and sightings
of golden eagles and free-roaming Tule elk.
February 21 will be the final eagle hike of the season -- but the Ukiah
Field Office will be offering free guided hikes in the spring to view
the abundant wildflowers of the area. For more information, contact the
BLM Ukiah Field Office at 707-468-4000. In the meantime, see some photos
from a recent hike.

PHOTO
ALBUM: Rainbow Basin
Rainbow Basin Natural Area is an Area of Critical Environmental Concern,
due to landscape features and paleontological resources in the area. Many
visitors come to see multi-colored rock formations and walk the scenic canyons.
A variety of desert-adapted wildlife is found here, including the desert
tortoise.

Related:
"Rainbow Basin Natural Area" (BLM California Web page)
Rainbow Basin Natural Area is located 8 miles north of Barstow. Vehicle
trespass is a major concern, so all routes not signed as "open"
are closed to vehicles. Please also respect the private property in the
area.http://www.ca.blm.gov/barstow/basin.html

MEET
YOUR ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS: Henricus Jansen
Henricus Jansen is a charter member of the Northeast California Advisory
Council and is a professor in rangeland management at California State University,
Chico. He played a leadership role in the development of the Healthy Land
Standards and Livestock Grazing Guidelines and related land use guidance
for off-highway vehicles. Read more in our weekly News.bytes feature:MEET YOUR ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS: Henricus Jansen

PROFILE:
Kathy Simmons
As Regional Administrative Officer based in BLM's Ukiah Field Office, Kathy
is an advisor to the six northern California field office managers and support
team staff. "I feel like the mom of the group," she says. But
"Mom" is retiring soon after 28 years with BLM. Read more in this
week's News.bytes profile:Profile: Kathy Simmons

MINING
AND MINERALS ISSUES ON PUBLIC LANDS

"States receive more than $1 billion from share of federal mineral
revenues" (Department of the Interior news release, 02/17/2004)
Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton announced that 36 states received
more than $1 billion during 2003 as part of their share of federal revenues
collected by the department's Minerals Management Service. California
received more than $25.3 million.http://www.doi.gov/news/040217a

"Boxer Bill May Slow Down Mining" (The Santa Clarita
Signal, 02/12/2004)
"In December, U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer announced that she will introduce
legislation that would scale back a massive mining project in Soledad
Canyon." Last week, she introduced "Senate Bill 2058, a companion
legislation to U.S. Rep. Howard P. 'Buck' McKeon's, that would cancel
certain leases from the Bureau of Land Management that authorize the extraction
of sand and gravel in Soledad Canyon."http://www.the-signal.com/News/ViewStory.asp?storyID=4126

"Mining may no longer be king of the mountain" (High
Country News, 02/16/2004)
"Court ruling gives land managers power to say 'no' to mining companies."
(Mentions possible impact on proposed Glamis mine in southern California.)http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=14557

"Bill Aims to Ban Oil
Drilling in Los Padres" (Los Angeles Times, 2/19/2004)
"The distant battles between wilderness advocates and the oil and
gas industry have, until now, played out across a handful of Rocky Mountain
states. But a Bush administration plan to allow oil drilling in proposed
wilderness areas in the Los Padres National Forest near here has brought
that fight to Southern California." Proposed legislation would prevent
new oil leases - which would be administered by BLM.http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-mevn-drilling19feb19,1,4039249.story

WILDFIRE
PREPARATIONS

"SNAPSHOTS" of National Fire Plan, in California
"Snapshots" highlights BLM activities in support of the National
Fire Plan. The first edition of 2004 features stories about homes saved
from southern California wildfires by homeowners who created "defensible
space." Other programs covered are in the Bishop area and in rural
areas throughout California.
(Note: this is a PDF file, 210 kilobytes.)Snapshots California - 2/13/04

"BLM plans prescribed burning project near Weaverville"
(BLM California news release, 02/17/2004)
Fire crews from the BLM and the California Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection (CDF) plan to begin a slash pile burning project near Weaverville
during the week of February 23.

"CDF aims winter fire safety education program at homeowners"
(Roseville Press-Tribune, 02/16/2004)
"Firefighters are going door-to-door to educate homeowners in fire-prone
areas of Placer County on ways they can make their property fire safe...the
expansion [of the program] into the winter months with a $64,000 Wildland
Urban Interface Fuels Reduction grant from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management
allows trimming to take place at the best time of year for trees because
they are in their dormant stage."http://www.thepresstribune.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=12&ArticleID=4142

BOOKSTORE
FEATURE: "California Trail - the story
behind the scenery"
Subtitled "Voyage of Discovery." From the book description: "65
pages of photos and information. This book covers the California Trail from
Independence, Missouri to California. Beautiful photography complements
the written story of the California Trail."http://store.ca.blm.gov/cgi-bin/webc.exe/st_prod.html?p_prodid=346&p_catid=4

HEADLINES
AND HIGHLIGHTS

"Bike rider, 11, survives 40-foot plunge into unfenced mine shaft"
(Los Angeles Daily News, 02/16/2004)
"According to Bureau of Land Management research, more than 47,000
abandoned mine shafts -- remnants of the 1849 gold rush -- remain in California.
Many of them are in popular off-road recreation areas. 'We knew there
were some old mine shafts, but most of them have barbed wire around them,'
[the boy's father] said. 'But when you're riding, it's kind of a follow-the-leader
thing'."http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200%257E20954%257E1960431,00.html

"63 off-road drivers get tickets" (Riverside Press-Enterprise,
02/16/2004)
"Authorities issued 63 citations Sunday morning as part of a crackdown
on off-road vehicles on private property...Off-road enthusiasts can contact
the Bureau of Land Management or check online at www.blm.gov for maps
of areas where off-road riding is allowed."http://www.pe.com/localnews/riverside/stories/PE_News_Local_roffroad16.a0499.html

"Moroccan locale offers more than just deserts" (Reuters
at Yahoo! News, 02/18/2004)
Filming desert movie scenes: "'Hidalgo' filmmakers did supplement
their Moroccan footage with some scenes shot in California's deserts at
locations like Dumont Dunes. But there they ran into a modern-day problem
they didn't have to face in Morocco -- dune buggies."http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040218/film_nm/film_morocco_dc

"Central Coast rancher pleads innocent to animal cruelty charges"
(Associated Press in San Francisco Chronicle, 02/13/2004)
"Last April, residents complained to county officials that wild horses
were seriously undernourished....Authorities checked on the animals and
two ranch raids led to removal of 167 horses." The rancher "purchased
most of the mustangs from the Western Shoshone Indians in Nevada early
last year for $1 each. About 250 of the 500 horses came from a federal
Bureau of Land Management roundup."http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/02/13/state1028EST0057.DTL

"Fort Irwin expansion delayed again" (Barstow Desert
Dispatch, 02/17/2004)
"The release of an environmental document required for the Fort Irwin
expansion has again been pushed back. The draft environmental impact statement
could be released next month, with public hearings to follow in April...."
Official says document is working its way through the Department of the
Army. Expansion talks have included BLM.http://www.desertdispatch.com/cgi-bin/newspro/viewnews.cgi?newsid1077028853,82841,

"Secretary Norton stresses priorities, goals and impact of FY 2005
Budget" (Department of Interior news release, 02/12/2004)
Interior Secretary Gale Norton outlined the President's $11 billion budget
request for Interior, calling it the single clearest statement of how the
department plans to work toward its goals in the upcoming year and emphasizing
the impact Interior's actions have on the American people.http://www.doi.gov/news/040212b

Related: "Statement of Gale A. Norton,
Secretary of the Interior, before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources on the 2005 President's budget request" (Department of
Interior news release, 02/12/2004)http://www.doi.gov/news/040212a

"Lawmakers cool to BLM request; Fund hike to control wild horses
unlikely" (Las Vegas Review-Journal, 02/12/2004)
"The Bureau of Land Management is running into more problems trying
to come up with additional money from Congress for wild horse controls,
a development that threatens new plans to reduce herds roaming the West."http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Feb-12-Thu-2004/news/23204020.html

"Auditors say Interior's deal with Utah illegal" (Salt
Lake Tribune, 02/13/2004)
A legal opinion by government auditors says the Interior Department's agreement
with Utah for the state to take control of miles of rural roads is illegal,
but Congressman...says the state and federal agency "should proceed
as agreed...." The agreement has been cited as precedent-setting for
other states, including California.http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Feb/02132004/utah/138466.asp

"Congress hobbles fee program for public lands" (Vail Daily,
02/13/2004)
"The ability of the U.S. Forest Service to charge a fee to visit...public
lands was dealt a potentially lethal blow in the U.S. Senate....The Senate
Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted 23-0 to make the Recreation
Fee Demonstration Project permanent for only the National Park Service.
The ability to charge the fee would lapse for three other federal agencies
- the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Fish and Wildlife Service."http://www.vaildaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040213/NEWS/402130103&rs=2

WILDLIFE
TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK - ANSWER:
To the question "At about what age does the mule deer fawn's spotted
coat turn to the adult's tan color?
(b) Four months. (Photo credit: Sherry Ballard, California
Academy of Sciences)
Learn more about the mule deer in our BLM California online wildlife database
(Note: the Wildlife Database is hosted on the Department of Interior's secure
Web server - see note under "Selected Upcoming Events" below):https://doi1.ios.doi.gov/blmcawildlife.nsf/siteurl/18089266?OpenDocument

Related: "Biologists map mule deer
to understand, fix decline" (Associated Press in Redding Record-Searchlight,
02/15/2004)
While mule deer are still a common site in some areas, their numbers are
dropping sharply in others. The decline is great enough that "[w]ildlife
biologists are mapping mule deer habitat from Mexico to Canada and identifying
specific regional problems to try to stem the deer's decline across the
West."http://www.redding.com/outdoors/stories/20040215ou071.shtml

SELECTED UPCOMING EVENTS(Note: the Upcoming Events database is on a secure Web server,
and your browser may state "You are about to view pages over a secure connection"
and ask you to "Trust a Security Certificate" from the Department
of Interior that hosts this site. To view the pages, you must select "Yes"
or "OK" for both questions.)

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